Legacy, or a leader's sense of his place in history, is a hot topic right now, as Tony Blair prepares to leave number ten. In our own world, it will be fascinating to see how time judges Tom Moloney, the chief executive of Emap, who stepped down last week.

Observers say that Moloney's fall was a long time coming, as shareholder
unrest built following the slow implementation of a digital strategy for
the group. Critics of Moloney say that the real issue is not the
strategy he agreed to put in place, but that the board needed to call in
the consultants McKinsey to put something on the table that could have
been signed off years earlier.

Yet, supporters argue that Moloney, an Emap veteran of some 26 years and
described by some as "emotionally attached" to consumer magazines after
experiencing the highs of its Smash Hits success in the 80s, was handed
little alternative by a board opposed to changing Emap culture. The
determination to preserve the status quo followed the winding down of
Emap Digital in 2001 (the unit was integrated into other Emap divisions
under Moloney's predecessor Robin Miller).

Whoever was to blame, Emap just hasn't evolved quickly enough given that
its two major consumer markets, magazines and radio, are best described
as "difficult" right now. Its business-to-business arm is another
matter, but a success that few credit to Moloney.

Emap's share price leapt by 6 per cent on the morning of Moloney's
departure, prompting speculation of a private equity bid and subsequent
break-up of the group. This week, Emap announced a review of its
Australian consumer magazine business in a bid to keep the wolves from
the door.

With revenues down 13 per cent, it will now press on with what it is
predicting will be a six-month search for a replacement, with the smart
money on an outsider. The former director Tim Schoonmaker and the former
BBC Worldwide chief Rupert Gavin have been connected with the post, but
neither seem likely candidates, given that Schoonmaker has been linked
with an aborted private equity bid for the group and that Gavin is said
to have previously turned down the role before it was offered to
Moloney.

But what is required? As one observer put it: "It needs someone to go in
and kick out the dross and move things at the right speed, not at 30
miles per hour." The only problem being: where do you find a chief
executive with the relevant FTSE 100 experience of dealing with the City
and shareholders who also has a track record of successfully
implementing a digital strategy? The retail sector, perhaps?

But whoever Emap turns to, Moloney's immediate legacy appears fragile,
following a troublesome stint in the US and then this messy departure
from the chief executive role.